1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates to systems and methods for harnessing wind energy, and more specifically to wind turbines for producing electricity from wind energy.
2. Related Art
Although many technological advances have been made in the development of wind power generation systems, such as windmills and wind turbines, the variation of air currents impinging on such systems continues to cause substantial change in the angular velocity of the drive shafts associated with such systems. The lack of a stable angular velocity on the draft shaft does not allow for the maximum use of the mechanical energy that would otherwise be available for conversion into electrical energy.
Generally, rotor attributes for wind turbines are selected so as to maximize energy production. Since the power being produced is proportional to the swept area of the blades of the rotor, rotors are typically selected having longer blades to increase the swept area, which in turn produces more power.
However, at high wind speeds, a wind turbine having long blades experiences greater loads on the wind turbine components. For example, a wind turbine exposed to the additional wind energy created by excessively high-speed winds, may experience enough torque on the mechanical transmission system to damage, for example, the bearings and gears. Even in moderate wind speed environments, periodic wind gusts, which change both the speed and direction of the wind, apply forces that may be strong enough to damage equipment.
As the use of wind turbines continues to present an environmentally-friendly solution to help reduce the need for burning fossil fuels to generate electricity, what is needed is a wind turbine system that overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks and provides increased power and decreased damage to components.